Books
by Scarpaw
Summary: Of course Lovino Vargas had to have a younger brother. And of course Ludwig had to fall for him. Human/College AU


This was a request from a friend on tumblr, who wanted a Gerita story with the prompt of books.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia**

_**Books**_

One might not expect it from the outward appearance of a big guy like Ludwig Beilschmidt, but his work occupation was that of a _librarian,_ of all things. No lie; instead of being a body builder, athlete, mechanic, anything else that someone first laying eyes on Ludwig would think of upon seeing him, he worked at a library. The university library to be more specific; part of his financial aid came from being a work study at one of the employment locations on the campus, and Ludwig wound up being placed in the library.

Not that he minded, of course. The work wasn't all that difficult, and he had made up his mind after working in the library what he would do exactly with the Business degree he was earning. Open up a book shop- not that a book shop was quite the same as a library, but there would certainly be the same amount of peace and quiet in a book shop. Or close to it, that was, as even if it was a library, there were certain areas of the university library that was never quite as quiet as it was supposed to, even during finals week.

As a work study student in the library, working under his supervisor he did a lot of work such as re-shelving books, fetching books, straightening books and making sure they were in order, and a lot of other work that is confidential and could cost him his job for even thinking about mentioning. And it was on one such of these jobs during his work hours that Ludwig ran into _him_, and quite literally.

"_Him"_ was none other than Lovino Vargas, the bad-tempered Botany Major. He was also known as Antonio Fernandez Carriedo's self-proclaimed boyfriend, which was wholly one-sided on Antonio's part.

"Oi, watch where you're going kraut breath," Lovino snarled, not even sparing him a second glance or a helping hand as he stepped over Ludwig's dropped books without offering to assist in picking any of them up. Sighing, Ludwig picked the books up himself, checking them for any possible damage from the fall, before continuing on with his duties. He thought nothing more of the encounter, until almost a week later.

This time, Ludwig had been paying attention. It was a different level of the library, different set of books, different location of stacks, same job, and Ludwig was more alert than he had been previous. Still however, it could not prevent him from running into Lovino Vargas _again_.

Or, at least, who Ludwig _thought_ was Lovino Vargas. Watching as the kid begged him for forgiveness, apologizing, Ludwig slowly decided that while the student looked like Lovino Vargas, he certainly did not act like the Botany Major.

Somewhere in the middle of him begging Ludwig not to hurt him and asking where he lived because he knew he had relatives wherever Ludwig lived, he cut the kid off for both of their sakes.

"It's alright," Ludwig started, but before he could speak further, he had a face-full of what looked remarkably like Lovino Vargas still, and, no, not in that way,

"Ah, I know you!" Their noses were practically touching and Ludwig could smell the others breath, a mix of parmesan and basil. "You're kraut breath!" As soon as that left his mouth, Ludwig watched as amber eyes widened, as if just realizing that that was probably not an appropriate thing to say to Ludwig's face. With how close the two were, Ludwig could practically feel the other boys' mouth open to start apologizing, and just as the thought of the quickest way to shut the kid up crossed his mind, a new voice came from above.

"Get away from my little brother, you pervert!" And just like that, Ludwig's personal space returned.

"Ve, brother, it wasn't like that!" Little brother? Ludwig hadn't been aware that Lovino had a brother, let alone any siblings, especially none that were on campus.

"Like hell it wasn't like that! Anyone with eyes could see what that was!" Students were quickly looking their way, as Lovino was drawing attention with his shouting. As a library worker, it was his duty to at least attempt to quiet them down.

"Ahem," Ludwig coughed, trying to garner their attention. He tried louder, when that didn't work. "Excuse me."

Louder still.

"Excuse me!" When the two looked at him finally (when did Lovino get his hands around the others neck?), Ludwig continued. "This is a library, and there are students who are trying to study. You need to either quiet down, or leave."

Lovino huffed, and moved his hands from his little brother's neck and dragged him out.

As they vanished around the corner, Ludwig told himself that the heat on his cheeks was from working himself up to yell at the two who were being disruptive in the library, nothing else. He also steadfastly pushed out of his mind why he first jumped to _that_ to shut up who he know knew to be apparently Lovino's little brother.

It wasn't until the weekend that Lovino's little brother received a name other than Lovino's little brother.

Like usual, Friday was the day that Ludwig's older brother Gilbert had his friends, Francis Bonnefoy, and Antonio, over in order to get wasted and avoid any assignments they had due until Monday morning. They had been friends since High School, which was the only way that the three would know each other otherwise, as Gilbert was an Engineering Major, Francis was Fashion Merchandising, and Antonio, Botany, (which was how he met Lovino in the first place).

"Lovino with a younger brother?" They weren't quite drunk yet, which was good enough, because it was just after 5, and Ludwig had just got home from his last class. Why they drank this early was something Ludwig had yet to figure out.

Still, drunk or not, Francis and Gil at least were quick to obtain lecherous looks on their faces while Antonio prattled dreamily on, like he had a tendency to do with anything related to Lovino.

"Sí, he does. Two of them. Lil Carlino's the youngest, starting high school this past fall," Antonio hiccupped, and his voice turned towards a slightly bitter tone. "Goes with Kirkland's younger brother. Ah, with how bad the elder one is, I hate to see how twisted the younger one is!" Antonio's eyes were out of focus, like he was remembering something bad, which was normal whenever you brought up Arthur Kirkland around him.

"And the other brother?" Because Ludwig was fairly certain that it was not a high school student he had run into in the library.

"That would be darling Feliciano!" It was Francis who cut in with what sounded like a dreamy sigh to Ludwig. Not that he could tell or anything. He was simply guessing. "I believe he's in the same year as you. I'm actually surprised some of your Gen Ed. courses haven't overlapped yet."

"What's his major?" Was that too curious? How could Ludwig really tell?

"Some sort of Management major, I believe." Francis responded, waving his free hand in a flippant motion. "Either Arts or Hospitality, I don't quite remember."

"Why this all of a sudden?" Gilbert cut in from across the table.

Was it suddenly warm in here? Yeah, that had to be it. All the hot air from idiots who thought it was a good idea to start drinking before 5pm.

"No reason, I was simply wondering." Ludwig made an attempt to dismiss the subject. "He mentioned something and it peaked my interest, that is all."

"I think it did more than 'peak your interest'," Gil grinned with the look that only siblings could quite manage when it came to their siblings' love life.

"Ohonhonhon," Francis chuckled over his glass. "With that rose look on his cheeks before any alcohol? I believe something more happened than just little Lovi 'mentioning' something." They shared a look.

Things always got dangerous when those three adopted the same thought. It was high time for Ludwig to make his departure before they did something.

"Oh look at the time," Ludwig looked at his wrist before belatedly realizing he didn't have a watch on. "I just remembered I have an assignment due at 11."

"Now you wait just a minute!"

"Shit, my beer!"

"Dog pile on Ludwig!"

Needless to say, there was a good thing the assignment wasn't actually real.

And of course, the results of his failed attempt to escape were still haunting Ludwig when he next ran into Lovino's little brother, Feliciano, on Monday when he went to pick up supplementary reading material for a paper at the library. The Italian (for the Vargas family was originally from Italy from what Ludwig understood, and the majority of the family still lived there) was reaching for a book on the top shelf that was just out of his reach. Of course, if Ludwig had been any other person, he probably would have left Feliciano to get the book himself, and really he should because of the embarrassment he still felt from Friday night's interrogation, but he felt a sense of duty to help Feliciano. A lingering feeling from having worked in the library so long, no doubt.

"Here," Ludwig reached up and easily grabbed the book, holding it out to Feliciano. "This is the one you wanted, correct?"

Hesitantly, Feliciano nodded, accepting the book. Their fingers brushed, and Ludwig could feel heat rising on his cheeks. As soon as the book was firmly in Feliciano's grasp, and he was not going to let his thoughts go _anywhere_, Ludwig turned away, intent on continuing to where his own reading material was.

Just as he was about to leave though, a hand snagged his.

"Wait!" For such a small man, Feliciano did have a surprisingly strong grip… And no! No going there! Bad thoughts. Ludwig had to remember to beat up Gilbert after this.

"I never got to apologize before." Feliciano continued. "I'm sorry, it was extremely rude of me to call you… that, last week." Ludwig turned around to face him, because that was probably the only way he'd get his hand back.

"I was so afraid I'd never get to see you again to apologize, and worried so much about it because Grandpa always said you're supposed to be nice to everyone and Papa said saying insults like that will send you to Hell especially if you don't apologize even though Lovi says stuff like that all the time without caring, I mean he even swears around Papa although he doesn't do it around Mama but I think it's because he just doesn't want to upset Mama and he doesn't swear around Carlino because he's trying to be a good influence on him and oh!" Ludwig blinked. How was it possible to fit all of that in one breath, let alone one sentence?

"I almost forgot!" Feliciano tucked the book under his arm, and held out his hand. "My name is Feliciano Vargas. I'm a sophomore Hospitality Management Major."

"I'm Ludwug Beilschmidt. Sophomore Business Major." Ludwig grasped Feliciano's hand firmly and shook it, trying his damnedest to fight the blush heating his cheeks and _stop his thoughts from going there no thank you_.

Feliciano smiled, and Ludwig would later say it was heart burn, but he could feel his heart flutter at the sight of the smile.

"_What are you doing to my brother!"_ With how loud Lovino's voice was, and his footsteps were across the floor, Ludwig was surprised plaster didn't shake from the ceiling, or that they weren't immediately kicked out of the library.

His arms were folded against his chest, and there was a very disgruntled look on Lovino's face as he plastered Feliciano with a disapproving stare. In the background, Antonio hovered sheepishly, no doubt the perpetrator who had pointed the two out.

"I swear you better not be doing some weird Germanic marriage ritual with my brother, otherwise I'll-!"

"It's fine Lovi!" Feliciano cut his brother off before he could finish what was undoubtedly going to be a creative threat. "I was just introducing myself, that's all!"

Feliciano let go of both of his hands, and Ludwig was shocked by how quickly they became cold without Feliciano's warmth. He shook that thought out of his head.

"Bye Ludwig!" Feliciano chirped, waving. "Thank you for getting my book for me!" And he vanished down the hall of the library, leaving Lovino spluttering in his wake.

That was the last Ludwig saw of him for a while.

He actually, honestly, had almost managed to forget about it until Elizaveta, Gilbert's one-true heterosexual crush, approached him right before finals week.

"Don't blink!" Was all the warning Ludwig received that fateful Wednesday, before a bright light blinded him followed by the click of a camera snapping a picture. "Great, thanks Ludwig! Just what I need in my portfolio for my end of semester project."

Elizaveta was a Photography Major, and known on campus for being a bit of a… well, a bit of a stalker. She used a lot of unconventional means to get her photographs, and very rarely did anyone get a warning like Ludwig just did. Gilbert had regaled him before with spectacular tales of stunts Elizaveta had pulled to get pictures before. Let's just say, if there was a national parkour competition, Ludwig would place his money on Elizaveta.

"Leaving everything off until the last minute?" Ludwig asked politely, looking up over the brim of his glasses for a moment to address the junior before returning to his review for his Accounting final.

"Oh, I wouldn't quite say 'everything'," Elizaveta replied, dropping into the seat across from Ludwig. "After all, I got some positively _interesting_ details from a mutual acquaintance that absolutely needed researching. For the greater good, of course."

Ah, yes, that was right. Elizaveta was also a bit of a gossip. Truthful gossip, but it was gossip nonetheless.

"And what, pray tell, would these 'interesting details' that need researching detail exactly?" Ludwig resisted the strong urge to face palm. He also tried to look as fascinated as he could with his notes, to try and get across the point that he was _studying._

"Well, I was told that someone has a crush on a certain Vargas brother." Please, please, please, say that she did not notice how he stiffened at that. And that the heat he felt burning on his cheeks was just in his head. Not actually on his cheeks. "And I was also told by an even more reliable source that this Vargas brother in question also has a crush on you. So of course I just had to check it out."

"I-If that is all, ahem," Ludwig coughed, trying to summon his composure back to him and force the heat off of his cheeks. "Would you mind leaving me to my studying? This is an important exam that makes up fifty percent of my grade I am studying for." He thought it was fifty percent. Or was it twenty percent? The heat in the room was making it a bit difficult for Ludwig to remember.

"Aw come on," Elizaveta whined, slumping in her seat, crossing her arms in a huff and pouting. "Aren't you going to tell me anything? A denial? Words of reciprocation? _Anything_? Way to leave us hanging."

Wait. What was that last word she said?

"What did you just say?" He looked up slowly, and hoped the horror didn't show on his face, or the heat he felt. If he remembered correctly from the romance movies he'd seen, generally when someone said something like that, it meant…

"I asked if you weren't going to tell me anything," Elizaveta straightened up.

"After that?"

"I was specifying?" But her face and tone were mischievous; Elizaveta knew exactly what Ludwig was referring to.

"R-Right," He adjusted his glasses nervously and started to gather his things. Ludwig certainly was not the main character of a cliché romance movie, and he'd make certain of that by leaving before anything could keep him in the library longer. "I will just be… going."

"Aw, come on!" She whined, trailing after him, her camera bouncing on her breasts. "Are you really not going to tell me anything?"

"There is nothing to tell." Ludwig responded, coughing awkwardly in his hand. "Especially seeing as you apparently know everything already. Did Gilbert tell you?" Ludwig would murder him if he did. He knew a guy who knew a guy who was enemies with a guy in the Archaeology department. Ludwig would have no trouble hiding the body.

"_That_ would be telling!" Elizaveta trilled, spinning ahead of Ludwig, holding up her camera to snap another shot. Ludwig responded by raising a hand to block the shot.

"But," She sighed, pouting and lowering the camera after her prey ruined the shot. "No, your brother did not tell me." Elizaveta turned sharply, taking up a military march down the hall.

"As if I would believe anything _he_ would tell me." Her tone was sharper than her stride, a sure sign to Ludwig that they were fighting again.

"Then who?" Ludwig requested, pressing the call button for the elevator as they reached its doors. Though he would not admit it, he was a little desperate to know who Elizaveta's informant was.

"A reporter never reveals her sources!" Elizaveta cheekily rebutted, stepping off to the side as the bell dinged, signaling the arrival of the elevator, and lifting her camera. He turned his torso to face her, a glare upon his visage.

Ludwig opened his mouth to berate the brunette, but did not get farther than that one action, as the elevator doors opened and a figure came barreling out of the elevator as soon as the doors released it, screaming,

"No! No! I don't want to hear any more big brother Francis!" Really, it was more of an anguished wail, but it had the same end result- Ludwig being summarily tackled to the ground by someone who was presumably half his muscle mass.

Ludwig blushed belatedly after realizing the position they had ended up in, because it took that first moment to realize who it was that tackled him to the ground. Lying draped across him was Feliciano, and it didn't take long for a blush to rise to the other's cheeks as well. Hurriedly the two were scrambling off one another and clambering to their feet, but it was not soon enough as the tell-tale clicks and flashes of a camera had already transpired.

There was laughter in the scene, before it was ended abruptly by a resounding smack echoing down the hall.

"I thought I told you not to scare him Francis!" Elizaveta scolded the other student sharply, camera having been dropped and hands placed firmly on her hips in her best '_you disobeyed me and now are going to pay the price'_ look. (Ludwig had seen it many a time directed toward his older brother.)

"Ah, but I didn't scare him!" The Frenchman said nervously, waving his hands in an '_I surrender'_ manner, meant to be placating. "I was just merely bequeathing him of the many uses-"

"Don't. Even. Dare." Elizaveta cut him off. "I gave you strict orders, and you disobeyed them! Gah, I knew I should have asked Kiku to help me with this. Lord knows _he's_ reliable." She threw her hands up in aggravation.

"Wait, orders?" Ludwig interjected into the conversation, narrowing his eyes. He looked between Francis and Elizaveta. "What did you two do?"

"Oh, nothing." Elizaveta said innocently. "But, speaking of doing something…" She put her finger on her chin in a thinking pose. "Didn't you have something you wanted to ask Ludwig, Feli?"

Ludwig felt his heart remove itself from his chest cavity and place itself firmly in his throat. It didn't help when Francis winked at Feliciano, causing a blush, encouraging,

"Go on! And remember what we talked about. Be _assertive_." He waggled his eyebrows and Ludwig wanted to die.

"Oh. Um." Feliciano tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Well… I mean…" He coughed nervously into his hand.

"Go on," Elizaveta told Feliciano, who closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Like a bullet, he grabbed Ludwig's hands in his ones, looked the German straight in the eyes, and practically yelled,

"Would you like to go grab a coffee with me?"

An awkward silence followed, and there were tears budding in the corners of Feliciano's eyes. Someone coughed awkwardly, before Ludwig let out a breath, answering,

"That sounds like a good plan."

**-End**


End file.
